1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to tape cassette reels, and more particularly, to a tape cassette reel having a wing-type upper flange which is incorporated within a video tape cassette.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a video tape cassette according to the prior art, a pair of tape reels are incorporated within a cassette housing and a magnetic tape is wound around the pair of tape reels in the state that the respective ends of the magnetic tape are fixed to reel hubs of the tape reels. Upper and lower flanges are formed at the respective ends of each reel hub so that the magnetic tape wrapped around the reel hub can not be moved in the width direction thereof.
In the prior-art tape cassette reel, the upper and lower flanges are independently molded, and they are integrally coupled to the reel hub by some suitable means such as welding and caulking in the assembly and manufacturing process (see Japanese Utility Model Gazette No. 57-9983).
As described above, in the tape cassette reels according to the prior art, the upper and lower flanges are separately molded so that the molding cost is unavoidably increased. Further, some process for coupling the upper and lower flanges is also required, which causes the number of assembly and manufacturing processes of the tape cassette to be increased. This leads to an increase of the manufacturing cost.